a peek inside the fishbowl

I think it was Mark’s idea. We started at the apartment, biked past our house on the way to Westboro Beach, and pushed onward to Lemieux Island and back again, making a decent 15 km loop. Happily, it wasn’t all just huffin’ and puffin’. There were some lovely surprises along the way.

Like hundreds of geese and their goslings converging near the water:

… and of course the Inukshuks:

… and cool rocks too.

We pedalled all the way to Lemieux Island (did you know the area is open to the public?) where we crossed the pretty bridge and stumbled upon a very mysterious path:

If you cycle around you will come upon a dog park. I’m not sure if it’s officially sanctioned or not, but there were an awful lot of soaking wet/filthy/smiling dogs there.

We biked up a wee hill so we could get a better view of this:

And then we turned around and went homeward. Along the route we had a surprise bird sighting. A number of people stopped to see:

After taking a few minutes to watch him sneak around looking for prey we finally made it to Westboro Beach for a breather and a dip. (Note to self: when biking with kids always have a really appealing goal in mind, and save it for the very end.)

Someone decided to get an up close and personal view of a nearby tree (which was proclaimed to be “the best climbing tree ever”).

It was a great way to spend a few hours on Canada Day. In fact, I think we should make it a new tradition.

Looking for other fun activities and events in Ottawa? You might want to check out the ultimate Ottawa Bucket List!

I’ve done this before, and thought it might be neat to document this day again. I’ll be adding to this page as the day goes on. Scroll down for the most recent posts.

6:59 a.m. – What am I doing up?

9:00 a.m. – The bit of work that I needed to get done is done. Let the fun begin! Oh wait, someone is in the shower and I forgot to eat breakfast. I also do not have a plan.

9:30 a.m. – Eating my breakfast. And the girls are already glued to their iPods. Gah.

9:45 a.m. – Printing a family photo to hide in our addition. (More about that later.)

10:00 a.m. – It’s time to snap into action and tidy up before it gets too hot in the apartment. (The girls hate it when I say “let’s snap into action.”)

10:30 a.m. – The good thing about living in an apartment is that it’s quick to tidy. Off to walk the dog!

11:00 a.m – We are back. It is hot outside today. Thank goodness for shady walks in the park! Added bonus: we had a surprise wildlife sighting! Sarah is preparing lunch: sushi! It’s leftover from last night’s dinner. If we die, that’s why.

11:30 a.m. – Sarah is making lemonade for later consumption. (Recipe here.) Off to run some errands!

11:40 a.m. – Stopped by the house to hide our time capsule! So exciting! And the construction crew did not think that we were weird AT ALL.

12:00 noon – Entering tweenland at Carlingwood Mall (Ardene, American Eagle et al.), where I am suddenly feeling very old.

1:00 p.m. – Taking a break with cold beverages. The girls got an Iced Cap from Tim’s, and I chose an Italian Soda from Second Cup. (Red grapefruit flavour, and it was only a buck!)

1:30 p.m. –  Loblaws. Hold me.

1:45 p.m. – Home again! Sarah has busied herself with a crafty project and Emma is snipping the tags off her new clothes. I swear she grew a couple inches overnight.

2:00 – 4:00 p.m – Picnic at the park. Fresh peas, orange peppers, cheese, cheese bread for the girls, and cheezies. Hmm. A lot of cheese going on there eh? We dunked our feet in the wading pool. I had a nap too. Lucky me!

4:24 p.m. – Off to the LCBO. I am going to need something to get me through these hot summer nights.

5:02 p.m. – Home. Withering. Beverages are not chilled yet. I am afraid that nap did more harm than good. Feeling spacey.

5:30 p.m. – Rushed dinner of pork chops and Best Salad Ever. Off to library to return books and movies before they close at six!

5:57 p.m. – We made it.

6:10 p.m. – Parked the car at the house and walked around. They’ve framed our mudroom. Weeee!

6:15 – 7:00 p.m. – Walk the dog. We are all panting.

7:05 p.m – Home again. Drinks are chilled. About to watch Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.

9:15 p.m – Movie is over, dishes are washed, and I am retiring with a book. I’m currently reading Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy and so far I’m enjoying it very much.

And thus concludes day one of summer holidays! How many more to go? ;)

Here we are again. It’s the last day of school here at Casa Fishbowl, and like every year I’m alternately flying around the house in a panic and wanting to dive into bed and bury my head under the covers.

I will write more about our summer plans later (speaking of which, are you coming out to CBC’s Play Day this afternoon?) but for now I wanted to fulfill a wee tradition I started awhile back… posting photos from the first day and the last day of school.

Some people measure height on those two days (which is also a great idea – wish I’d thought of that a few years ago) but I choose to take a photo.

So here’s a quick look at how the year school year began for us in September 2011, in the end-of-summer shade of green in front of our house. Oh how I love those smiles:

And here is how it ends, today in June 2012, in front of a very sunny apartment:

And with that we bid farewell – forevermore – to grade five and grade seven. Sigh.

Speaking of school days ending, have you seen this story yet? It is lovely.